Surfing Madonna moves to a new location

Artist Mark Patterson installed the Surfing Madonna on a wall next to Surfy Surfy surf shop on North Coast Highway in Leucadia on Monday, June 25, 2012. The mosaic is made mostly of glass and stones.
— K.C. Alfred

Artist Mark Patterson installed the Surfing Madonna on a wall next to Surfy Surfy surf shop on North Coast Highway in Leucadia on Monday, June 25, 2012. The mosaic is made mostly of glass and stones.
— K.C. Alfred

Not really, but the stained-glass mosaic created by Mark Patterson has moved again, from its most recent home outside a surf shop on Highway 101 to an exterior wall at Leucadia Pizzeria, facing Encinitas Boulevard. The new site is a stone’s throw from the spot under a rail overpass where Patterson originally installed the work in 2011.

“It’s a perfect location for it,” Patterson said Wednesday about the mosaic’s new home. “It’s a more visible location so the message of the Madonna can be seen by more people.”

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The 10-foot-by-10-foot mosaic — depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe on a surfboard, along with the message “Save the Ocean” — first caught the public’s attention two years ago when it surreptitiously appeared overnight on a wall beneath a train bridge east of Highway 101 in Encinitas.

The identity of the artist was a mystery, but when the city eventually ordered the mural removed, Patterson came forward. City officials were worried that the mosaic, which was installed without permission, could violate the state laws prohibiting the government from favoring one religion over another.

After spending some time in storage, the Madonna was moved to a wall between the Café Ipe and the surf shop Surfy Surfy on North Coast Highway 101 in Leucadia.

Patterson said this week that second location wasn’t quite right. “A lot of people complained that they didn’t know where the Madonna was,” he said.

More than 18,000 cars pass by the new location each day, Patterson said, which means more people will be able to see the mural’s message promoting awareness of the world’s oceans.

Asked if the Madonna had found a permanent home, Patterson said: “I hope so. I’m sure the Madonna doesn’t want to be bounced around.”

The Madonna has become a popular attraction for the city, drawing people to see the work and take pictures.

It has also inspired at least two other projects aimed at promoting ocean health, including The Surfing Madonna Save The Ocean 5-10K Beach Run on Nov. 16 and the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project, which will help raise money to create other Surfing Madonnas in other California beach towns.